Urban Fantasy is that rich blend of fantasy tropes (magic and magicians, witches, wizards, vampires, shapeshifters, demons) in a contemporary setting, often a city but not necessarily, and mystery tropes (detective work, murder and crime, police procedural), spiced up with dicey romance, troublesome relationship issues, and wit and whimsy. You may be a fantasy fan to enjoy UF, but you don’t have to be. I wrote The Garden of Abracadabra for any reader who appreciates a good story.

Books I adored as a child shaped my love of Urban Fantasy. Supernatural people in a real-world contemporary setting and wise articulate animals appear in all four volumes of P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins (such beautiful and humorous writing, a true sense of wonder, and wonderful pen-and-ink illustrations). Same for Myths and Enchantment Tales adapted by Margaret Evans Price and illustrated by Evelyn Urbanowich (illustrated Greek and Roman myths). Then there was the Giant Golden Book of Dogs, Cats, and Horses (61 short illustrated stories, a Newberry Award winner). Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Books (my vintage edition has dazzling pastel illustrations). Who could have missed Charlotte’s Web, mixing up humans and talking animals? I took these all books (lovingly wrapped in plastic) off with me to college in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and lugged them all the way to California where they sit on my bookshelf to this day.

This just in from Goodreads!Alan writes: “I loved the writing style and am hungry for more.:D”The Garden of Abracadabra, Volume 1 of the Abracadabra Series (Bast Books)is onNook and Kindle with a print edition planned for late 2013.

Fun and Enjoyable Urban Fantasy January 12, 2012
By D. Pflaster
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a very entertaining novel- sort of a down-to-earth Harry Potter with a modern adult woman in the lead. Even as Abby has to deal with mundane concerns like college and running the apartment complex she works at, she is surrounded by supernatural elements and mysteries that she is more than capable of taking on. Although this book is just the first in a series, it ties up the first “episode” while still leaving some story threads for upcoming books. I’m looking forward to finding out more.

From the author of Summer of Love, A Time Travel (a Philip K. Dick Award finalist and San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book) on Nook and Kindle, and The Gilded Age, A Time Travel (a New York Times Notable Book and New York Public Library Recommended Book) on Kindle and Nook.